A Different Lifetime
by KissMeI'mIrish07
Summary: A woman with a link to Brennan's past leaves a message on her anwsering machine, which causes her to suddenly become secretive and distant. Can Booth help her? Or will it ruin their blossoming relationship?
1. Chapter 1

Title: A Different Lifetime

Disclaimer: Bones does not belong to me

Summary: A woman with a link to Brennan's past leaves a message on her anwsering machine, which causes her to suddenly become secretive and distant. Can Booth help her? Or will it ruin their blossoming relationship?

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"Bones? You back yet?" Booth called out, leafing through the magazines set on the table by the door. When Temperance didn't reply angrily, he knew he was alone in her apartment. One of her many rules when they started dating was that he had to stop calling her Bones, that along with marriage being strictly out of the question. He looked over at the answering machine, there was one new message. Without a thought he pressed the play button, knowing that Temperance often left him messages on her machine when he forgot his cell phone, to tell him she would be late for dinner.

"Tempe, it's me…Anne …I'm sorry it's been a while." Booth picked his hand up to press the stop button, but something in the tone of the caller's voice, desperation, kept him from pressing it. "He's out Tempe… they let him out…how could they let him out…" The caller paused, a muffled cry coming from the machine, "He's out there Tempe…I can't do this…" The caller tried to speak more but after a few seconds broke down crying, slamming the phone into the cradle.

Booth replayed the message multiple times, running through his head various scenarios of who this Anne could be. Maybe Temperance had solved the murder of someone this woman knew? This was unlikely… Temperance didn't get close enough to relatives of the victims to have them call her at home… heck Temperance didn't get close enough to anyone other than Angela. Maybe it was someone from Temperance's childhood? Maybe her best friend from elementary school? No, Angela was the only best friend Temperance had ever had… Maybe a relative… but she had never mentioned anyone but Russ, who had been incommunicado for over a year. Booth rubbed his face, groaning. He walked over to the couch, letting himself fall back onto it, just as Temperance came inside.

"Hey" She greeted, leafing through the mail by the door. "Sorry I'm late. I got wrapped up in work."

"There's a message for you." Booth mumbled, hoping she would reveal to him who this Anne was.

As Temperance listened to the message, her face fell and she heatedly slammed the delete button before the message even finished.

"Who's Anne?" Booth asked tentatively, standing up and walking over to Temperance.

"Just someone I knew…" Temperance mumbled, her face now emotionless.

"From?" Booth pried, despite knowing his efforts would be unsuccessful.

"A long time ago… a lifetime ago."

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Booth lay in bed; before he opened his eyes he knew he was alone, he almost always woke up alone. He blinked groggily before looking at the clock, 7:58 AM. He immediately assumed Temperance had gone into the lab early, to get ahead on cases from the basement before Booth brought in a fresh one. He was about to close his eyes for a few more moments of sleep when he heard a muffled voice coming from the next room Booth slowly got up, moving soundlessly to the bedroom door where he could clearly hear Temperance in the living room on her cell phone.

"Anne…" He heard Temperance sigh. The memories of the previous day came flooding back to him. Booth could replay the message in his head which Anne had left. "There's nothing we can do…" Temperance's voice was calm and soothing; a tone Booth rarely heard her use. "It's the law Anne… that's just how it is…I know… He won't hurt you anymore, I promise..."

_BEEEEEEEP_ Booth jumped slightly as the 8AM alarm began to ring. He heard Temperance quickly end her conversation, just as he jumped into bed and turned the alarm off. Temperance entered the bedroom a moment later still in her pajamas and a mug of black coffee in her hand.

"I think I'm taking today off…" she announced, her voice resolute.

"Really?" Booth was stunned; Temperance had never taken a day off during their year long relationship, excluding her trip to Brazil to identify murder victims in a mass grave. "Maybe I'll stay home too."

"No." Temperance was quick to answer.

"Why?" Booth began to question, but Temperance's stern face told Booth trying to argue would be useless. "…Okay… well can I borrow your cell? Mines back at my apartment and I don't think I have time to stop there." He asked, standing up and pulling on his black pants as he scanned the room for his tie.

Temperance thought this over for a moment, then nodded. She figured work would keep him out of her hair for the day.

After a quick cup of coffee, Temperance practically pushed Booth out the apartment door.

"Not even a kiss?" He asked a smirk on his face. Temperance leaned in, pecking him on the lips. "Now leave before you're late." She warned, closing the door instantaneously.

Once he was in the elevator Booth took out Temperance's cell phone and wrote down the last number dialed. He knew if… no when she found out he did this, she would be angry, but he had to have answers.

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"This number belongs to…" Agent Michael Williams typed the number into the computer before looking up at Booth. "Anne-Marie Lowell. The name ring any bells? This is for an investigation right?"

"Who is she?" Booth asked irritated, ignoring his friend's questions.

"She's 29, lives in Bridgeport, Connecticut with her two daughters, unmarried. The worst thing on here is a fairly large number of speeding tickets… what exactly are you looking for?"

Yet again Booth ignored the question and asked his own, "Where did she grow up?"

"Hm, this is interesting…"

"What, what's interesting?"

"She was involved in some case. It's confidential. But I'm sure with what ever your case is, you can open the file."

"Yeah…" Booth mumbled, knowing just looking up this woman's name was breaking the rules, let alone opening a confidential file. "Thanks for the help."

It took hours on the phone, pulling strings he knew could get him fired, but within a few hours a large envelope was delivered to his desk, CONFIDENTIAL stamped across the front.

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A/N- this is my first fic in a while (and my first bones fic), but i'm so happy to be back. Reviews would be loved!


	2. Chapter 2

A/B- sorry i didn't update, but the fictions completely done now so ill update more regularly.

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Something inside Booth kept him from opening the envelope. He had grown to love Temperance over the last year (though the one time that he had admitted it to her, she still claimed to believe love was just a mixture of chemicals essential for survival of the species). Booth couldn't help but feel opening the file was betraying her in some way. He considered returning it unopened, but his instincts told him whatever was going on was worse than he initially imagined. Maybe it was just a bad feeling, but he couldn't help but feel he needed to follow his instincts. Even Temperance admitted his instincts were often right.

He carried the envelope with him the entire day, spending hours on busy work that should have taken minutes. The envelope felt like a heavy weight in his briefcase until 5PM when he could finally go home. He hovered outside the apartment door for a moment before quietly walking inside. He expected to see Temperance on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and a book in her lap, but she was not there.

Booth used his normal test, calling out 'Bones', but she didn't reply. He clenched his teeth and sat down on the couch. She wasn't going to tell him, he knew that, but he had to know, he had to help her.

Booth pulled the envelope out of his suitcase and cautiously opened it, pouring the contents onto the coffee table. The first thing he saw was the court transcript. It was for a case against a man named Richard McDonough. The man's eerie picture alone sent a bad feeling to Booths stomach, and he knew there was no turning back. He scanned the transcript, trying to find Anne's name, but before he could Temperance came walking through the front door.

"Hey" He said, quickly pushing the papers, pictures, and tapes back into the envelope.

Temperance didn't reply, walking over to the refrigerator and pulling out a beer. "You want one?" She mumbled, searching through the drawer for the bottle opener. She looked disheveled, a rare look for her when she hasn't been working for at least 20 hours straight. Booth felt she even looked gorgeous in the morning, but he could be biased.

"No thanks… where were you?" He asked, slipping the envelope back into his briefcase.

"Out." Temperance said bluntly.

"Tempe…" Booth said nervously, he could feel tension building, and the last thing they needed was a fight.

"Just… seeing an old friend." She elaborated, pausing a moment before walking over and sitting down on the couch.

"Anne?" Booth questioned.

Temperance nodded, taking a long swig of her beer.

"How do you know her?"

"College" Temperance answered quickly, an obvious lie Booth could easily detect.

"You okay?" He asked after a moment of silence, putting his hand on her back.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem on edge, that's all."

Temperance shot Booth a look; her eyes clearly saying 'back off'. "I'm going to bed."

Booth gave her a few minutes before going into the bedroom, but she was already asleep, wrapped in blankets, her face shoved into the crisp white pillow. Booth stood silently, watching her gentle face as she slept. She lay with one arm curled beneath her, the other hugging the pillow and a few strands of hair falling across her soft face. He could remember their first night together; he had been amazed at how fragile she looked when asleep. Booth watched her silently, until he finally slid into bed and placed his face next to hers. It was then he could clearly see the glistening tears which had collected on her dark eye lashes.

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Booth lay awake, staring at the ceiling for two hours before he got up. He had to know, something more than just an upset friend was going on. If it was simply an upset friend distressing Temperance, Booth had no doubt he would have come home to an Angela therapy session.

He was about to read the transcript of the trial when he noticed the label on one of the tapes. Before he knew it, he had dug out Temperance's tape player from one of her cabinets and set it up before him on the coffee table. He hesitated only a second before pressing play and turning down the volume so not to wake his sleeping girlfriend.

_"And how long have you lived with Richard, Temperance?"_ A young woman's voice asked clearly.

_"A little over a year…" _ The hair on the back of Booth's neck stood straight. She sounded so young, so scared.

_"And how did you come to live with Richard?"_

_"I got placed there by foster care… I was in a group home before that."_

The sound of the lawyer walking was heard, and when she spoke her tone had changed. Booth guessed she was now addressing a jury or the judge_. "So this girl, only fifteen when she was placed there, scared out of her mind after losing both parents, was placed into a foster home with a man who was supposedly a saint. A man who already had 4 other foster daughters, all this girls' age. She was brought there expecting to find a safe home, but she found something very different." _The lawyer was heard walking again. _ "Temperance, how many rooms did you and your foster sister's share?"_

_"Well… he had two for us when social workers came, but we all slept in one the rest of the time."_

_"Can you tell me about that room Temperance?" _Booth hadworked on enough cases to know this was a line the lawyer had rehearsed with Temperance several times.

_"It was smaller than my room back at the group home… the window had bars on it, he said it was so we couldn't sneak out and get him in trouble… I shared a bed with Anne and April, and then Casey and Libby shared the mattress on the floor…"_

_"Did he let you have a light in there?"_

_"No, he said it was a waste of electricity…we weren't worth it."_

_"Did you have dinner every night?"_

_"Casey used to make it if he told her to, otherwise no. He didn't like to cook, and he ate out a lot…"_

_The lawyers heals were heard once again pacing the marble floor. "Well jury, obviously we're here for more than just neglect. Two girls are dead, and three most likely traumatized for the rest of their lives." The lawyer's pacing stopped. "Temperance, what happened to Casey and her twin?"_

There was a long pause and Booth could hear sniffling, which he assumed was from Temperance. _ "You just said it…  
"We need you to." The lawyer coaxed._

_"They killed themselves…" Temperance said, he voice cracking as she spoke._

_"Why Temperance?"_

_There was no reply._

_"Was it because he abused them?"_

_"Leading the witness!" The defense lawyer screamed._

_"Fine, I'll reword. What happened to cause them to feel they needed to do this?"_

_"He… He abused them."_

_"Ho-"_

"BOOTH!" Booth turned to see Temperance standing in the bedroom door. "What are you doing?!" She screamed, tearing the tape player cord out of the power outlet.

"I-"

Temperance's eyes widened as she put the scene together, looking at the file, papers, and finally Booth. Her jaw dropped slightly and her lips twitched as if the thoughts running through her head were too numerous to voice just one at a time. For the first time Booth could remember, she was speechless.

After what felt like an eternal silence, Temperance clenched her jaw, then spoke as calmly as she could, "Go home Booth."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- here's an update, enjoy!

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Booth's mind was wheeling as he sped down the road. He couldn't decide on what to panic about first, the fact that his relationship with the woman he loves may be over, or that she was probably abused by some bastard who's now out of jail. Booth couldn't go home, he had to do something. The shooting range was closed; he didn't want to go into work, maybe the Jeffersonian? No, she would probably be there, and he needed to give her time to cool down, then he would explain everything to her.

Booth pulled to the side of the road, taking out his cell phone and scrolling through the contacts list. Angela had always made it clear she was there to talk, though before this he had never taken her up on it. She answered the phone laughing; obviously Temperance hadn't talked to her.

"Hello?"

"Hey… um Angela?"

"Booth? Is everything okay?"

"Not-"

"Oh God is it Brennan?" He voice was suddenly panicked.

"No, well yeah… umm she kicked me out…"

Angela was silent for a moment. "Wung fu's in fifteen?"

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Booth sat down at the bar, and Syd immediately served him a drink, leaving the bottle on the counter.

"Hey." Angela greeted him, sitting down hesitantly. "So what happened? And don't say you don't want to talk, because you called me to come."

"I know… I-" Booth looked over at Angela. She'd probably get mad too, think he was a horrible person. But if he was going to win Brennan back, he would need Angela's help.

"Someone called the other day… Anne Lowell. You know about her?"

"No… but Brennan has been acting a bit odd…"

"Well this message shook Tempe up, so I… I" Booth took a deep breath, "I got her phone number and tracked it."

"And Brennan found out?" Angela asked with a sigh.

"Worse…" Booth paused for a moment. "I found out this girl had been involved in a case, so I got the file…"

"You knew Brennan would be mad when you did this…"

"I know… but I had a bad feeling…"

"Was it right?" Angela's voice sounded both worried and intrigued as she leaned on the counter.

"Yeah… It was a case about a man named Richard McDonough. He had five girls in foster care… one of them Temperance, another Anne Lowell."

"Abuse?" Angela's voice quieted, upset but not surprised she had never heard this from her best friend.

"Yeah… I don't know more than that though… that's where I was in the tape of her testimony when Tempe woke up and…"

"Why has this all come up now though? Why did Anne call?"

"The guy is out of jail…"

"God this must be killing her…" Angela said looking down at her folded hands for a moment.

"I-" Booth put his head in his hands, he couldn't help but regretting his every move in the last twenty-four hours.

"You were worried… you did what you thought was right." Angela said, practically reading his mind.

"You sound like you do when you talk to the psycho serial killers… Like you're just agreeing to keep me from blowing up…"

"No, I really mean it Booth." Angela said gently, "Any idiot can see how much you love her. She just has trouble seeing it sometimes. She just… she doesn't like people lying to her, she's had enough deceit."

"How do I fix it?" Booth asked, his eyes resembling a scared child's.

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_RING. RING. RING. RING. You've reached Doctor Temperance Brennan. Please leave a message with your name, number and I'll get back to you. _

Booth normally smiled at Temperance's message; to him it always seemed a bit too normal for her. But this time he sighed, pleading into the receiver. "Tempe… It's me… again… please… please let me talk to you…If you're there pick up… Please Tempe… I can explain…I can explain everything…"

Why wouldn't she pick up? Give him one chance? He knew why, he had betrayed her. He had been so happy two days ago, now he was miserable, and it was his fault. He called in sick to work before dialing Temperance's number at the Jeffersonian.

"Brennan" She answered on the first ring, her voice sounding exhausted. Booth hesitated for a moment, realizing as many times as he tried to call, he had no clue what he was going to say. Just as he finally opened his mouth to say sorry, Temperance checked the caller ID and slammed down the receiver.

Booth called again three times before giving up and throwing his cell phone onto the opposite end of the couch.

He leaned back, covering his eyes with his hands. He couldn't let Temperance slip through his fingers, it took so long for them to realize they were meant to be together, now it was all falling apart. Booth jumped up, grabbed his cell phone, and headed down to his car.

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"Tempe… please… please just look at me." Booth begged, standing in the doorway as Temperance typed rapidly at the computer in her office.

"Tempe… I didn't mean to hurt you… I didn't mean to be so selfish…"

Temperance stopped typing for a moment, getting Booths hopes up that she was about to speak. But she only highlighted what she was typing, hit backspace, and started all over.

Angela suddenly appeared behind Booth. "Booth, can you go for a bit… Zack wants to talk to you."

Booth turned, giving her a look, to which she responded with an assuring smile.

"Yeah… okay." He said slowing, glancing back at Temperance once again before Angela walked into the office and closed the door behind her.

Booth put his back against the wall, flexing his hands as he listened to Angela inside.

"Sweetie, I know you didn't ask for my advice, and I know you're going to be mad that it seems like I'm taking his side, but this has happened before. You get angry and you shut down. You need to let people explain things to you. Like with Russ, who was trying to protect you but you never let him explain, and you lost so much time with him. OR with the hot guy I set you up with, who by the way wasn't even close to being as good to you as Booth has been. This guy loves you Bren, despite anything that happens, he loves you and my guess is he always will. Give a chance to explain, because I don't want you to regret this…"

There was silence and Booth could hear shuffling inside the office, followed by whispering. A moment later Angela came out of the room, closing the door behind her. "Don't screw this up." She warned with a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

Booth took a deep breath before knocking on Temperance's office door.

"Come in." Temperance said, sounding only half convinced of her invitation.

Booth entered slowly, taking a deep breath before looking Temperance in the eye. "Tempe I'm so so sorry… I had no right to-"

Temperance cut him off, her voice low as she slowly rose from her seat, "I've looked at this… every way I can. I've tried to think of any logical reason for you to go behind my back and dig up a part of my life I'd rather not relive. I've gone through scenarios, analyzed historical events and societies that could relate to this," Temperance's voice rose slightly as she continued to struggle to keep her emotions in check, "and…and even tried to look at the psychology behind it. But there was no viable reason for what you did, or how far you took it… other than satisfying your own dmn curiosity."

Booth stood on the other side of her desk, stunned for a moment before speaking. "It wasn-"

"Don't lie to me Booth, stop lying to me!" Temperance yelled, her eyes welling with tears.

"Yes… it started off as curiosity… I'm sure that played a role, but once I saw how that message affected you, I couldn't ignore it Tempe… I couldn't let you go through something so big alone, not again. I love you Tempe, I don't care what you think of love, I love you, and I can't watch you suffer, I just wanted to… no I needed to fix what ever was going on. You've always felt you were alone in your problems, that you had to do everything for yourself, but you have me, you'll always have me!"

Temperance sunk slowly into her chair, speechless.

"Tempe?" Booth said softly. "Tempe…"

Temperance was no longer looking at Booth; she had focused on a spot on the wall on the opposite end of the office. Booth traced her stare to a picture of them which was taken shortly after they had begun dating; he had tickled her trying to make her smile for the camera, and the auto timer caught an ideal shot. It was a perfect example of their relationship, he pushed her and she pushed him.

Temperance took a deep breath, still not looking to Booth. "Meet me at my place tonight… we can talk…"

"Thank you Tempe…"

"I have work to get done." Temperance said, quickly focusing her attention on the computer.

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Booth knocked on the door with his elbow, holding a box of Wung Fu's in his hands. Temperance appeared at the door moments later, to reveal the coffee table already set for the "surprise" meal. 

"Hey" Booth greeted uncertainly.

Temperance closed the door soundlessly as Booth placed the Wung Fu's on the table.

"Are we going to be okay? I need to know." Booth asked, turning to face Temperance.

"We may be…" She said, looking down at the cream colored carpet.

"What do I need to do? I'll do anything Tempe." Booth pleaded.

"I need you to leave this alone…" She answered resolutely.

"What?" Booth replied, thrown off.

"This whole thing with Richard, Anne…"

"No, I mean… you want-"

"I need to handle this myself Booth."

"But I…"

"I don't want us to be over… but I need to handle this myself. If you can't accept that… then you may want to find a new partner…and a new girlfriend."

Booth inhaled slowly.

"There are things in my life, parts of it, I prefer to keep private… I need you to accept that Booth. You know more than most people… but you'll never know everything. I know that's hard for you… and if you can't do this… I understand." Temperance adverted her gaze, "It's in your training to always want the full tru-" she began to ramble but Booth took a step forward, placing his hands on her waist.

"I know it won't be easy Tempe, but I told you, I'd do anything for you." He said pulling her closer. She began to say something but Booth leaned over and kissed her, and despite her previous anger, she kissed back.

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Booth shifted in bed, all night he had been unable to close his eyes for more than a few seconds at a time. He rolled to face Temperance, who was faking sleep next to him. That he couldn't beg her to tell what was going on was killing him, but if she wanted to handle this herself he had to respect that… at least try. 

Booth leaned over, kissing Temperance's forehead before walking out into the living room to turn on the T.V he had gotten himself as a Christmas present (since Temperance had refused to accept it as a present for her). He leaned back on the couch with a yawn, flipping through the channels until he found something remotely interesting.

"What are you doing up?" Temperance asked, leaning against the door frame.

"You look sexy in pajamas." Booth said with a boyish smile, observing Temperance in a dark blue tank top and flannel pajama pants rolled so just an inch of her stomach was showing.

Temperance rolled her eyes, walking over to the couch and sitting next to him. "Why are you up?" She asked again.

"Too much caffeine at dinner." He lied. As much as he wanted to ask why she was still awake, he knew the answer, so he just repeated, "You look pretty in pajamas."

"Don't use that line on me." Temperance said holding back a laugh.

"What line?" He asked innocently.

Temperance shook her head and looked to the T.V. "You're watching a commercial for a blender?"

"No my dear, it's an infomercial, _much_ better."

"Do you plan to buy this product?" She asked looking at the energetic man who was trying to sell the blender on the television.

"No, why?"

"Then what is the purpose of watching this?"

"I don't know."

"What's the difference between this and a regular commercial?"

"No one knows Bones, that's the mystery. It's just longer and for some strange reason, fascinating." He explained, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him on the couch.

"Don't call me Bones." She said quietly, knowing her protests would make no difference.

"When did I call you Bones?"

"Just before!"

"I have no recollection of this."

Temperance let her jaw fall slightly, "You JUST did! You said 'No one knows Bones'."

"You have no proof of that." Booth said with a wink.

Temperance groaned, "You're impossible."

"I learn it from Parker."

"Don't blame your problems on your son!" Temperance said, her lips twitching into a smile.

"Here, here's the best part!" Booth said pointing to the screen. The middle aged man was now putting random household objects into the blender to prove the strength of the blades.

"Why is he doing that?" Temperance questioned a confused looking coming over her face.

"To make you want to buy it."

"Why would I want a blender that can chop up a glass bottle? What's the point?"

Booth laughed, "There is no point Tempe."

Temperance rolled her eyes, nestling her head on Booths shoulder with a yawn.

"You want to go back to sleep?"

"Nah, I'll watch the next infomercial."

"Well this channel is going to play the same one until 7AM. But there are plenty of others on." Booth said, picking up the remote.

"Nah, I can think of other things to do." Temperance said, lifting her head with a smirk.

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**A/N**- Thanks for reading - please reveiw! 


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